While NFF chief executive Matt Linnegar stressed that NFF did not agree with all the report’s policy recommendations, he did endorse its focus on fostering lasting competitive advantage through innovation, environmental protection, and minimising industry dependence on fuel and fertiliser use.

It is the impact on business-as-usual and the potential to boost productivity and profitability that seems to have piqued the interest in the report from NFF, who recognise that a sustainable, long-term approach to agriculture could bring about greater competitive advantage.

Laurie Eadie, lead author of Farming Smarter, Not Harder, explains that the report takes a far-sighted approach by considering “what is needed to drive Australia’s economy beyond the mining boom.”